USA > Illinois > Henry County > History of Henry County, Illinois, Volume II > Part 44
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John P. Chaiser of this review was about seven years of age when his par- ents brought him to this country and was but ten when he was deprived of his mother's love and care. He received his education in the school of the colony and after its dissolution in 1860 went to Moline to learn the cooper's trade, at which he worked in that city, Cordova and Chicago until 1868, when he returned to Bishop Hill, where he pursued the same occupation for one year. Then he became a salesman in the general mercantile store of Swanson & Jacobson, leaving the employ of that firm to take a course in the Great West- ern Business College at Galesburg. In 1872, having completed his studies, he received the appointment as station agent at Bishop Hill, being the second to occupy the position, which he retained until 1882. In the meantime, however, he had had other business experiences by which he had profited. About 1873 he engaged in the lumber business, which, although started in a very small way, grew to large proportions. In August, 1877, he increased the fields of its op- erations, adding grain dealings, and he formed a partnership with Fred Wey- erhauser, now the lumber king, and a Mr. Denkman, under the firm title of J. P. Chaiser & Company. This enterprise also grew to be one of importance, doing such a large business in corn and oats, that Bishop Hill was for many years a good grain market. In 1883 Mr. Chaiser sold his interests in the con- cern, and the following year retired from active business.
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This abandonment of commercial life, however, was but the beginning of new undertakings and the enlargement of his field of usefulness in the village. Through his good business management and his judicious investments, particu- larly in lands, he had acquired considerable property, owning several good farms , in Henry county as well as in Nebraska, so that he was in comfortable cir- cumstances. Yet he assumed the appraisership for the Svea Mutual Fire & Lightning Insurance Company, of Knox, Henry and Mercer counties, and the agency for the Phenix Insurance Company, of Brooklyn, and he also repre- sented the White Star Line steamer company, thus keeping in touch with the world of affairs, although his main interests were given to matters of larger outlook. Ever a strong and zealous temperance worker, Mr. Chaiser has la- bored untiringly against the legalized saloon, so that the fact that Bishop Hill has for so many years been without them is due largely to him. In 1874 he voted the prohibition ticket for the first time, ever since that time exerting him- self most actively in promoting the success of the party and the promulgation and acceptance of the ideals for which it stands.
On the 5th of February, 1870, Mr. Chaiser was united in marriage to Miss Betsey C. Linbeck, who was born in Ockelbo, Gefleborg, Sweden, May 24, 1848. All her life, however, has practically been spent here, for her parents came to Bishop Hill in 1849, as members of the colony. Three daughters have been born to Mr. and Mrs. Chaiser, namely: Alice E., who is the wife of Fred V. Johnson, of Sayre, Oklahoma; Winnie S., who is the wife of Andrew O. Lind- strum, of Galesburg; and Juna C., who married William B. Hiller, of Oakville, Iowa.
Mr. Chaiser has always been very active in public affairs of the village. For a number of years he was school director; he served as highway commis- sioner for a short period; was village trustee for many years; and is now fill- ing his third term as police magistrate. Shortly after the organization of the Good Templars here, in 1866, he joined their ranks and became very active in the work of the order during the period of its existence here, having been grand deputy chief templar for a number of years. Also when the Band of Hope was established here, he became the leading spirit of that body. But al- though there are patent evidences everywhere of Mr. Chaiser's interest in the welfare of the community in which he lives, what the village and its associa- tions have meant to him personally from the time he was a child have found more adequate expression in the songs and poems which he has published from time to time, one of which is quoted below :
OLD TOWN CLOCK. Here is a glimpse of Bishop Hill, The old, historic town, The buildings are quaint and large, Quite noted and renown.
The ancient building that is shown Is made of stone and bricks, A town clock seen upon its top Which always ticks and ticks.
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It was made in eighteen fifty-nine,
And has run for many a day ; Tick and tock, tick and tock, It is always heard to say.
Old and of an ancient style, Day and night it measures time, And strikes at every hour With clear and pleasant chime.
Some future day it sure will stop, It's getting old and worn; Then we'll be so sad and lonely, And many for it will mourn.
GUSTAV E. MILLER.
Gustav E. Miller, a farmer, stock raiser, feeder and shipper of Geneseo town- ship, who owns two hundred and thirteen acres on sections 18 and 19, about a mile west of the city of Geneseo, was born on a farm near Schwetz, West Prus- sia, April 15, 1848. His parents were David and Carolina (Sichmansky) Miller. the former also a native of Schwetz, of whose large family six are located in the United States. Herrmann, the youngest, also came to this country, but after re- maining about two years returned to Germany and is now living on the old home place. David Miller died in 1893 in his native land. His wife had passed away many years before while her son Gustav E. Miller was still in the army.
Gustav E. Miller, the oldest of the family, was reared upon the home farm and received a good education in the public schools of his native land. In 1869, when he was about twenty years of age, he was called into the German army and during the three years of his service took part in many of the important battles of the Franco-Prussian war, among them being Gravelot, the siege of Metz and the siege of Paris. He was also at Dijon when Garibaldi was in command of the opposing forces, and where his regiment-the Sixty-first-lost its flag, although, through the bravery of one of its members, it was later recovered. In the fall of 1872 Mr. Miller was honorably discharged from the army and the following spring came to America. He embarked on a steamer, which took two weeks to make the voyage, and on landing at New York came almost immediately to Henry county, Illinois, where he had two uncles. He had brought a little money with him, but, thinking it wiser to save this for emergencies, he went to work by the month. After a short time he was able to purchase forty acres of land in Edford township. This he cleared of the brush and timber that covered it and on it built a house and barn. For about fifteen years it remained his home, although in that time the original acreage had been doubled. He had paid about forty dollars an acre for the land and toward the end of the 'Sos he sold it at some profit and bought one hundred and sixty acres, the farm on which his son Albert now lives.
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He paid about sixty-five dollars for that land and made it his home for about seven years, when he bought the three hundred and twenty acres on sections 34 and 35, Geneseo township, on which his son Otto lives. In 1906 he bought the place where he lives today. It is almost unnecessary to add that he has been suc- cessful, for the fundamental lessons in farming he learned in his native land he has applied with excellent results in this country.
In Edford township, February 20, 1876, Mr. Miller married Miss Paulina Pobanz, who was born in Bagnevo, West Prussia, Germany, March 22, 1857, and is a daughter of George and Henrietta (Dettmann) Pobanz. She was about five years old when her parents came to this country. They were eleven weeks on the water and landed in New York, coming almost immediately to Henry county. In Edford Township they purchased a home, as they had brought some means with them. On that farm Mrs. Miller grew up, receiving her education in the common schools. To Mr. and Mrs. Miller have been born nine children: Albert E., of whom mention is made in another part of this volume; Emily, who lives at home, Otto H., whose sketch appears elsewhere; Mary, who married Rev. Christ D. Reichle, of Missouri, and is the mother of a son, Richard; Gustav L .. born May 30, 1884; Mathilda, a stenographer in Chicago; Ernst, born June 6, 1889, who lives at home; George, born June 19, 1891 ; and Grace, who died at the age of nine. The oldest daughter, Emily, is a graduate of a music school in Chicago, and Mary was graduated from the Geneseo high school, while Ernst and George are students in the Geneseo Collegiate Institute. Mr. Miller's son, Gustav, is a born musician and, though he has never had any instruction in the art, he is not only a teacher but a composer as well. He also organized an or- chestra of boys, which in the winter of 1908-9, accompanied by a pianist, trav- eled in Illinois and Missouri, with pronounced financial success.
Mr. and Mrs. Miller and their children belong to the German Evangelical Lutheran church, of which Mr. Miller served three terms as trustee. Although he is not a charter member of the congreagtion he enjoys the distinction of having hauled the first load of bricks for the erection of the edifice. In his political views Mr. Miller is a republican, and for several years rendered efficient service as school director, collector and road overseer in Edford township. In 1909, accompanied by his wife, he returned to Germany for a three months' visit, with the result that he was well satisfied with his home in the United States, where the years of his active life have been spent and where he has made stanch and loyal friends among those who have watched his progress.
ALBERT E. MILLER.
Albert E. Miller, one of the native farmers and stockmen of Edford township, was born December 20, 1876, and is a son of Gustav and Paulina (Pobanz) Mil- ler. He was reared on the old homestead and having attended the district school received a good education in the rudimentary branches of English instruction. He also learned the trade of a carpenter during his youth but until he became of age he worked for his father, receiving nothing in return for his labor. On
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attaining his majority he was permitted to keep his wages and found ready demand for his services in the county and in the city of Geneseo, and was soon able to undertake contracts for carpenter work. Until 1905, when he married, he de- voted himself to his trade and then turned his attention to agriculture on the farm on section 34, Edford township, where he lives today. He purchased this from his father in 1902, paying one hundred dollars per acre for it. Since that time he has remodeled the buildings and has made many other improvements so that its value has risen to about one hundred and sixty dollars per acre. He follows general farming and stock raising. With persistence he has made the farm more than pay for itself and return him a large interest upon his investment.
In Watertown, Rock Island county, Illinois, May 3, 1905, was celebrated the marriage of Mr. Miller and Miss Anna Schultze, of Barstow, that county, where she was born and reared. Her father, Frank Schultze, was a native of Rock Island county, April 9, 1860, having been the date of his birth, while his wife, who was Miss Bertha Lavien in her maidenhood, was born in West Prussia, Germany, and came to America with her parents. Three children were born to them, of whom Mrs. Miller is the eldest; Frank lives with his father and mother in Rock Island county; and Amelia married August Vallrath and also lives in that county. Mr. and Mrs. Miller have one child, Alvera, who was born on the home farm, April 5, 1906. While not a seeker for public preferment, at the elec- tion in 1909 Mr. Miller was the choice of the republican voters for township collector. The success which has attended his agricultural endeavors and the high principles which have marked his intercourse with his fellowmen recom- mended him to the citizens as a man upon whose integrity they might rely. In religious matters he is a stanch Lutheran and with his wife attends the German Evangelical church in Edford township.
OTTO HERMAN MILLER.
Otto Herman Miller, a member of the agricultural community of Edford township, where, on sections 34 and 35, he owns a farm of two hundred and forty acres, is a native of that township, and was born February 17, 1880. His parents are Gustav E. and Lena Paulina (Pobanz) Miller, of whom extended mention is made in a preceding sketch. His boyhood days were spent upon his father's farm in the township of his birth, and he attended the common schools of that district, becoming proficient in the English branches taught and also in the speak- ing and writing of German. Until he became twenty-one he gave his father the benefit of his labor, and then, upon attaining his majority, was paid wages for the five additional years he remained with him. In 1906 Mr. Miller married and be- gan life for himself, renting of his father the farm on which he now lives and which he bought in 1909 for one hundred and forty dollars an acre. Here, in addition to general agriculture, he has engaged largely in the raising and feeding of stock, which he ships in quantity to market. Still a young man, he has many years in which to prove his skill as a tiller of the soil, and there is every reason to anticipate that his success will equal that of his father.
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In Edford township, March 18, 1906, Mr. Miller wedded Miss Mary Erdman. She was born in that part of the county, June 27, 1884, and is a daughter of John and Anna (Hintz) Erdman, who are residents of Edford township. She re- ceived a good education in the common schools and also obtained a knowledge of German which enables her to read and write the language. Mr. and Mrs. Miller have no child living, Irene Pearl, born March 19, 1907, died ten days after birth.
Mr. Miller is in sympathy with the platform of the republican party, but while he never misses an opportunity to exercise his right of franchise, he has not sought for any public office within the gift of his fellow citizens. In his religious faith he is a Lutheran, and with his wife attends the services of the German Evangelical church.
ORSON DUNBAR.
Orson Dunbar, a well known, enterprising and progressive agriculturist of Wethersfield township, was born in La Fayette, Stark county, Illinois, on the 27th of November, 1851. The birth of his father, Washington Dunbar, occurred in Breckinridge county, Kentucky, on the 21st of September, 1822. The latter's education was limited to only three days' schooling but he was apt at figures and could calculate the price of a load of hogs mentally more quickly than another man could figure it out with pencil and paper. He was but a boy when he came to Illinois with his parents, who soon afterward established their home in Weth- ersfield township, Henry county. He immediately went to work as a farm hand for neighboring agriculturists, being thus employed for some years, and was still a lad when he bought a yoke of young steers and broke them. Logging and all kinds of team work likewise claimed his attention, and he came into posses- sion of land by a method that was quite common at that day, being given a tract of forty acres as a remuneration for breaking twenty acres of prairie land within a certain length of time. He built the first hewn log house in La Fayette, and entered eighty acres of land on the northwest corner of section 31, Wethersfield township. He set out trees, built fences, erected buildings and prospered won- derfully in his farming operations, adding to his holdings by additional purchase from time to time until he owned three hundred and twenty acres of rich and productive land. About 1900, having accumulated a handsome competence, he put aside the active work of the fields but still continued to reside on his farm and there passed away on the 2t8h of October, 1907. Prior to his death he had divided his property, eighty acres falling to the share of our subject. His po- litical allegiance was given to the republican party but he never sought the honors and emoluments of office and in fact cared little for the glamour of publicity. In his later years he was a faithful attendant at the services of the Universalist church. His labors contributed in substantial measure to the early development and upbuilding of this section of the state, and when he was called to his final rest the community mourned the loss of one of its most respected and worthy residents. In early manhood Washington Dunbar wedded Miss Annar Lee, who as a child accompanied her parents on their removal from Ohio to Illinois, the
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family taking up their abode among the pioneer settlers of Stark county. The demise of Mrs. Dunbar occurred on the Ist of April, 1897, when she was sev- enty-three years of age.
Orson Dunbar, who obtained his education in the district schools of Wethers- field township, yet resides on the old home farm where he was reared, still oc- cupying the same house. He was early trained to the work of the fields and now devotes his time and energies to the operation of a tract of eighty acres, from which he annually gathers golden harvests as a reward for his care and labor. Since the death of his father he has erected a new barn and numerous other build- ings, has rebuilt and overhauled all the fences and also set out several trees. He has a fine bearing orchard including apple, peach, plum, pear and cherry trees. In addition to his agricultural interests he makes a specialty of breeding common horses, raising ten colts in 1909. He likewise devotes considerable attention to the raising of steers and hogs and in all of his undertakings has won a gratify- ing measure of success. His holdings include one hundred and eighty acres of pasture land in Knox county, and he has long been numbered among the pros- perous and representative citizens of his community.
Where national questions and issues are involved Mr. Dunbar supports the republican party but at local elections casts an independent ballot, always voting for the men and measures that he believes will best conserve the general welfare. He is widely and favorably known throughout this section and has won the warm esteem and confidence of all with whom he has come in contact.
WILLIAM ORIA COSNER.
William Oria Cosner, who devotes his time and energies to that branch of activity which George Washington designated as "the most useful as well as the most honorable occupation of man," is the owner of a highly improved and pro- ductive farm of one hundred and six acres on sections 10 and II, Burns township. His birth occurred in Burns township on the 13th of November, 1866, his parents being William H. and Adelaide A. (Wedge) Cosner. A sketch of the father appears on another page of this work.
William O. Cosner was educated in the district schools of his native township and remained under the parental roof until twenty-two years of age, giving his father the benefit of his services in the work of the home farm. He was then married and for three years afterward gave his attention to the operation of a rented farm of two hundred acres on section 14, Burns township, the property belonging to L. E. Wilhelm. Subsequently he took up his abode on the farm of one hundred and six acres in Burns township which has remained his place of residence to the present time, cultivating the land as a renter for about three years, on the expiration of which period he purchased the property. He has re- modeled the house, built a new barn and various other outbuildings for the shelter of grain and stock, has put up new fences and a windmill and has also tiled his land, so that the place is now lacking in none of the improvements and conveniences ences of a model farm of the twentieth century. It is all under cultivation with the .
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exception of a tract of twenty-seven acres of timber and pasture land. In addition to his farming interests Mr. Cosner likewise makes a specialty of Hereford cattle and Jersey Red hogs and also raises quite a number of colts. He is a stockholder in the Henry County Telephone Company and is well entitled to recognition among the enterprising and prosperous citizens of his native county.
On the 20th of November, 1889, in Kewanee township, Mr. Cosner was united in marriage to Miss Emily I. Scott, a daughter of William and Ann (Peart) Scott, who were natives of England. They came to this county from Canada, locating in Kewanee township, where William Scott began working in the coal mines. He there passed away in January, 1877. His widow still survives and makes her home in Kewanee. Unto Mr. and Mrs. Cosner have been born seven children, namely : Lester Ord, a young man of nineteen, who assists his father in the work of the home farm; Elsie B., who is seventeen years of age; Clarence P., who is a youth of fifteen and attends the district schools; Bessie C. L., a little maiden of seven, who is likewise attending school; William Carroll and Mar- jorie O., who are five and two years of age respectively; and Gladys Adelaide, who is in her first year.
Since age conferred upon him the right of franchise Mr. Cosner has cast his ballot in support of the men and measures of the democracy but aside from this has taken no active part in politics. He is a warm friend of the cause of educa- tion and has served as a school director for nine years. Fraternally he is identi- fied with the Modern Woodmen of America at Kewanee, Illinois. He and his family are valued members of the Ebenezer Methodist Episcopal church near Cosner's Corners, doing everything in their power to promote its growth and extend its influence. He has an extensive circle of friends in the county, where he has always resided, for his life has ever been upright and honorable and the motives which have guided his actions have been such as will bear the closest in- vestigation and scrutiny.
HUGH G. CARSON.
No history of Kewanee and Henry county would be complete without ex- tended mention of Hugh G. Carson, who enjoyed the distinction of being the oldest resident of his community, having resided here for a longer period than any other man. He was called to his final rest on the 24th of April, 1908, at the venerable age of eighty-five years, and for seventy-two years of that time main- tained his residence in this county. His birth occurred in Salt township, Wayne county, Ohio, on the 22d of May, 1823, and he was therefore a lad of thirteen when the family home was established in Henry county in 1836. The father was an agriculturist by occupation and trained his sons to the work of the farm. On coming to this county he settled on a quarter section of land about three and a half miles from the present site of Kewanee, and upon this farm both he and his wife passed away, his demise occurring in 1841. Following his father's death Hugh G. Carson became the mainstay of the family and, though this was quite a responsibility for so young a man, he acquitted himself creditably. In 1846
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he purchased the interests of his brothers and sisters in the old homestead and started out in life on his own account. General agricultural pursuits claimed his attention until 1861, when he put aside the active work of the fields and took up his abode in Kewanee; but four years later he returned to the farm, making his home thereon until 1881. Having won a handsome competence, he once more came to Kewanee and here spent the remainder of his life, enjoying in well earned ease the fruits of his former toil.
On the 14th of December, 1843, in Burns township, Mr. Carson was united in marriage to Miss Emily Ann Doty, who has passed away. The record of their children is as follows: Mary E .; John H., who is a resident of Nebraska ; Mrs Sarah S. Orr; Florence, who is deceased; Rosa V., who is the wife of O. W. Smith, of Valparaiso, Indiana; Franklin R., living in South Bend, Indiana ; and Ida N., the wife of J. H. Wilsey.
Mr. Carson voted the democratic ticket until 1856 but in that year assisted in the organization of a Fremont club and ever afterward was a stanch supporter of republican men and measures. His life was in harmony with his professions as a member of the Congregational church, and as a Freemason and he enjoyed the unqualified respect and esteem of all who knew him. His mind was a store- house of interesting facts concerning the early history of this section of the state, and he told many tales of the hardships and dangers which beset the sturdy pioneer in his efforts o reclaim the district for the purposes of civilization. Dur- ing the '40s, while riding home from Geneseo one evening by moonlight, he was pursued for miles by a pack of wolves and his frightened horse barely succeeded in escaping them. At that time houses were few and far between, but during the spring and summer of 1855 people began flocking to Kewanee from all quar- ters and small frame structures sprang up on every side. Not only did he wit- ness the transformation of this section from a wild country, with only a few white inhabitants, to a rich agricultural country, containing thousands of good homes and acres of growing towns, inhabited by an industrious, prosperous, enlightened and progressive people, but he participated in the slow, persistent work of devel- opment which was necessary to produce a change which is so complete that it has come to be popularly referred to as magical. The period of his residence in Henry county covered more than the Psalmist's allotted span of three score years and ten, and his name is inseparably interwoven with its history.
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